After a week of tests, it all came down to this. I thought about buying flowers for Jennifer for the occasion, but Dan suggested not to weird her out. I made a mental note to buy flowers for her when she got pregnant. Dan however didn't fight the idea about a card. I made a card and addressed it from Dan and me because Dan was in the toilet and I couldn't wait to put it in the envelope and write her name on top.
We made it to the clinic only ten minutes late but that was okay cause Jennifer was late too. She was just getting dressed when we arrived. She came out in the white dressing gown and looked scared. I smiled and hugged her then gave her the card.
"Oh, you really didn't have to." She insisted in her American accent as she careful opened the envelope, making sure not to damage it for later posterity. She read the card and hugged us both again before Nadia cleared her throat.
"Not to interrupt but we close in an hour." She smiled but she just came off as rude. We all sat down and she explained that since Dan and I already donated some of our sperm, she just needed to retrieve some of Jennifer's eggs.
"But why can't you just put our sperm... Ya know." I tired to motion with my hands but Dan stopped me. I was grateful because I had felt the awkwardness creeping up.
"We need to make sure they are fertilized." Nadia explained calmly. "Remember, we only have one shot at this." Jennifer looked a little panicked at hearing this news. "Don't worry." Nadia placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She lead Jennifer back into another room, leaving me and Dan to wonder.
"What kind of tools do you think they have back there?" Dan whispered as I began to count the specks on the ceiling tile.
"Dan, I don't want to think about that." I moaned disgustedly. But my mind wandered anyways as I hit seventy-eight specks. Did they have some kind of vacuum that sucks up the eggs? Hundred and four. How small was the birth area anyways? Two hundred and fifty-nine. Did a baby really come out of there? Three hundred and thirty. When I hit seven hundred and ninety-two, the door opened. Dan and I both stood up.
"It's going to be an overnight process, Mr. Howlters. But I have a good feeling about these eggs." Nadia wrapped an arm around Jennifer's shoulders who looked extremely uncomfortable. I felt bad for her.
"Hey," I asked tapping her arm before she went to change as Nadia started packing up. "Do you want to go out for dinner? Our treat." I ignored Dan's elbow wedges as Jennifer looked unsure.
"I don't know, I had a pretty exhausting day. What with work and getting my eggs scrapped out of my uterus." I giggled but I could almost felt Dan dry heavy as I pressed on. "Come on, it'll be fun." She smiled then desired.
"Alright, let me get dressed first though." She opened and shut the door then Dan went into a whispered furry.
"What the hell was that? 'Do you want to go out for dinner?'"
"She is giving us our future baby, Daniel." I argued back in the same hushed tone. "Plus, after have that done, I would be flattered someone would take me out to dinner." Dan looked me an are you serious look.
"Flattered, really?"
"It's a nice thing to do okay?" I finished as she came back out in a waitress outfit.
"Where to?" She asked but before I could answer, she added "Anywhere but Rickie's Tavern."
"You work at Rickie's?" I asked amazed slightly. For they had the best fish and chips a tavern could offer at a good price, not to mention they are well known for their customer service.
"Yeah, it's not much but it's nice." She said nonchalantly as we exited the building. We all agreed on the local diner. Jennifer mentioned it reminded her of 'the better America' "You know," She explained on the way there. "The America before everything went to shit."
We all enjoyed our burgers, malts and chips as the night went on. I even caught Dan laughing. Lately, his laughs never touched his eyes. But those couple of hours proved to me that the Dan I fell in love with was still in there. I knew something was going on with Dan, I just didn't know what.
We got back to the house around ten-thirty.
"That was fun wasn't it?" I asked Dan to see if he was still with me or not.
"That was." He stated simply. I hide my disappointment well. He was gone, but maybe I could pull him out again.
I crept around the kitchen's island and placed my hands around Dan's waist.
"Phil..." He seemed annoyed and tried to push me off but I moved around the push and clamped my mouth to his. He didn't fight my tongue very much as it explored his mouth. He even pawed back playfully, which made me smile. I pushed my body into his and he responded back with a fervent vengeance. As his arms coiled around my chest, my fingers intertwined with his hair. Yes, this is my Daniel. I thought greedily as we moved away from the kitchen and towards the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothing in our wake. I pushed Dan down onto the bed the only thing between me and him was our boxers. His a solid black, mine a rainbow of tie die.
"Ready for me?" I asked cheekily as I walked closer to the bed. He nodded like he had when I asked him the first time we did it. Scared but excited. I straddled him after coaxing his boxers down far enough for me to see the show. I pulled off my own and threw them carelessly away. "Are you sure?" I whispered in his ear, sending shivers down his spine. I felt the goosebumps underneath me which caused the same effect on me. They rose then fell like a wave, it felt wonderful. I bit his neck in excitement and he pulled me closer into him.
"Fuck me." He whispered.
"Don't worry," I pulled away from the love bite with a satisfied smack. "I plan to." I reached across him to try to grab the lube, when I realized with horror that it wasn't there at all. "Dan, where's the lubricate?" I used the full name to turn him on even more. I felt my effect immediately.
"We ran out remember?" He moaned. "Let's just try without it for once." He begged pulling me into him even closer, managing to wrap his legs around my waist. I remembered suddenly that I had bought more yesterday.
"Wait here." I ordered him. I pried myself away from him and ran to the still not put away grocery bags. I found it then hurried back, but I could already tell from standing in the darkened doorway that he was gone. He just was staring at the ceiling, sprawled out, naked. I sighed and hide my disappointment again but it was so hard to now knowing I was so close to having one real night with the real Dan. This Dan was sulky and it didn't mean anything to him, besides a cheap thrill. But to the real Dan, it was the best way to express just how much we mean to each other as best friends and as husbands. He glanced over at me and asked nonchalantly
"Are we still doing it then?" I closed my eyes, blinked away the tears as I answered with a nod and entered the bedroom shutting the door behind me quietly.